Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with antimicrobial and deodorizing compositions, methods and binding systems to provide antimicrobial and deodorizing functional coatings to hard and soft surfaces including textiles, inorganic and organic solid media, particulates, porous and non-porous, and other related subjects, including human and animal skin, and skin lesions; to provide neutralizing function for odors generated by both human and animal fluid and solid wastes, and for the oxidative degradation of noxious agents that contact the functional coatings.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, it is generally based upon and utilized in conjunction with compositions and methods to stabilize N-halamine-based antimicrobial and deodorizing subjects; and to provide the formulas to reduce chlorine odor and gas phase corrosiveness for halogen-based functionally coated subjects.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, the N-halamines can be immobilized onto targeting subjects via polymeric binder with physical and/or chemical bindings with synergism. The interactions include but are not limited to van der Waals interaction, complex combination, ionic interaction, hydrogen bonds, crosslinking, free radical interaction, etc. In other words, the present invention provides compositions and methods for producing disinfecting and deodorizing fluids, biocidal, oxidative coatings and media which can be widely used for biological control, prevention and elimination of odor and other noxious agents, and the inhibition of enzymes that generate malodors from organic substrates. Without limiting the scope of the invention, functional coatings and media can be stable on storage and durable in use. Without limiting the scope of the invention, the discovered halogen stabilizing compositions can provide reduction of chlorine odor emanating from N-halamine-based antimicrobial and deodorizing subjects. Without limiting the scope of the invention, the discovered halogen stabilizing compositions can provide reduction of corrosion caused by halogens from N-halamines.
Despite the extensive efforts being made today to prevent the spread of infectious agents, infectious diseases continue to be the third leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) continue to be one of the world's most pressing and expensive healthcare problems. Environmental hard and soft surfaces contaminated with infectious agents play an important role in transmission of infections, and they are responsible for about 20% of the documented outbreaks of healthcare-associated infections. Cross-infections are not only the main causes of morbidity and mortality in hospitals, but also they increase hospital stays and costs. The rates of nosocomial infections, especially by those caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria, are increasing alarmingly over the globe.
Although more rigorous infection control measures are being implemented, it is clear that the current modalities to reduce nosocomial infections are not sufficient. One critical factor for transmission of infectious agents is the ability of microorganisms to survive on environmental surfaces. It has been well-established that many infectious agents can survive for a long period of time in the environment. For example, on various hospital surfaces, gram-positive bacteria (vancomycin-sensitive and -resistant Enterococci and methicillin-sensitive and -resistant Staphylococci) survived for at least one day, and some survived for more than 90 days; gram-negative bacteria (including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Proteus mirabilis, Acinetobacter species, and Enterobacter species) survived from 2 hours to more than 60 days; medically important fungi (Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Mucor spp., and Paecilomyces spp.) survived for days to weeks; and viruses (parainfluenza viruses, influenza A and B viruses, respiratory syncytial viruses, human enteric viruses and SARS coronavirus) could survive for hours to days. For example, a hospital outbreak of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was directly linked to a stretcher and a handheld shower; a Pseudomonas aeruginosa outbreak in a hematology-oncology unit was caused by contaminated surface cleaning equipment; and a norovirus outbreak at a long-term-care facility was associated with contaminated surfaces of case-residents' rooms, dining room tables, and elevator buttons. Recent studies showed that patients harboring multidrug-resistant bacteria such as MRSA and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) could heavily contaminate their surrounding environment, and the contaminated surfaces could significantly increase the risk of transmission to subsequent occupants.
In response to the wide spreading of infectious pathogens, biofilms and odor, antimicrobial surfaces that can effectively inactivate microorganisms upon contact have attracted considerable research interests. Those methods have been extensively used in the production of woods, papers, plastics, textiles, coatings, etc. The main purpose of adding biocides into polymers, however, is to protect the polymeric materials from deterioration and discoloration caused by microbial attacks.
Recently, the development of antimicrobial surfaces that effectively inactivate pathogens, odor-causing microorganisms and prevent biofilm formation has become an urgent issue, but successful examples are still few and limited in scope. The N-halamines exhibit potent durable antimicrobial properties against microorganisms. Additionally, they can prevent or minimize noxious odors by inactivating upon contact microorganisms, the malodorous products of microbes, and even the enzymes used by microbes that generate malodorous end products, such as those that, through catalytic enzymology, cause the decomposition of organic matter in bodily wastes to ammonia or other noxious materials.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with antimicrobial and deodorizing compositions, methods and binding systems to provide antimicrobial and odor and noxious chemical neutralizing functions to coated subjects. Specifically, the present invention provides compositions and methods for providing antimicrobial and odor and noxious chemical control functions for hard and soft surfaces including coatings, textile, inorganic and organic solid media, particulate porous and nonporous subjects, human and animal skin and skin lesions, and other related subjects.